Advise Please

Right folks, here is my predicament, I am employed by a very large company, great terms, fantastic pay & bonuses, I am pretty much able to do what I want in the place and no one has ever questioned (in a bad way) what I do (headhunted). I have a team of nearly 80 people under me and in any of my reviews I have been told I am held in very high regard by the CEO. All sounds good so far.

Well then, as I am easily bored and want to always better myself, I decided to setup a web based company a few years back and have since started two others. Between these companies two are extremely profitable while one is still in it's infancy and is teetering around the break even point, but should do so my the end of 2011. Before you ask I only put a few hours into these companies a month and never on my employers time as I employ one person full time to do any admin work pertaining to them.

Anyway, I was just called into the Head of HR's office for a "meeting" and she stated that she has heard I have outside business interests and that it is not acceptable. She claimed that as my employer payed me a salary, I was obliged to work solely for them and not share my knowledge with anyone else.

I explained that in no way was there a conflict of interests between anything I did in my FREE TIME nor was I using any company materials so I didn't see a problem. I also pointed out that there are many people that I work with who have multiple properties and they chew up work time either trying to rent their properties, talking to the bank, sorting problems for tenants etc. so why aren't they all being dragged in for a bollocking. Not to mention people that play the markets or choose to invest in other bits and pieces.

By the time the meeting was over I was lead to believe that if I was to continue what I am doing then the company would take action against me. Does anyone know if they can do this? Or can I just ride it out like a prick and tell her to fuck off like I want to. I suppose could always stand down as a director and let family members take those roles but I just don't want to.

Right folks, here is my predicament, I am employed by a very large company, great terms, fantastic pay & bonuses, I am pretty much able to do what I want in the place and no one has ever questioned (in a bad way) what I do (headhunted). I have a team of nearly 80 people under me and in any of my reviews I have been told I am held in very high regard by the CEO. All sounds good so far.

Well then, as I am easily bored and want to always better myself, I decided to setup a web based company a few years back and have since started two others. Between these companies two are extremely profitable while one is still in it's infancy and is teetering around the break even point, but should do so my the end of 2011. Before you ask I only put a few hours into these companies a month and never on my employers time as I employ one person full time to do any admin work pertaining to them.

Anyway, I was just called into the Head of HR's office for a "meeting" and she stated that she has heard I have outside business interests and that it is not acceptable. She claimed that as my employer payed me a salary, I was obliged to work solely for them and not share my knowledge with anyone else.

I explained that in no way was there a conflict of interests between anything I did in my FREE TIME nor was I using any company materials so I didn't see a problem. I also pointed out that there are many people that I work with who have multiple properties and they chew up work time either trying to rent their properties, talking to the bank, sorting problems for tenants etc. so why aren't they all being dragged in for a bollocking. Not to mention people that play the markets or choose to invest in other bits and pieces.

By the time the meeting was over I was lead to believe that if I was to continue what I am doing then the company would take action against me. Does anyone know if they can do this? Or can I just ride it out like a prick and tell her to fuck off like I want to. I suppose could always stand down as a director and let family members take those roles but I just don't want to.

the bottom line is if they want you out ,your out ,it just depends on the size of the golden handshake,i would recommend you get a good lawyer to look at your contract of employment
all the best ric

The Following User Says Thank You to Ric Hardgear For This Useful Post:

As above, get a good lawyer that specialises in employment law to look at your contract of employment and also look at your other interests, like Ric said if they want you out that's usually what they will get by fair of fowl means so best to C.Y.A cover your ass.It may well be just a storm in a tea cup and then again it could be jealousy. I know the strong desire to tell them to f*** off might be appealing but its not the way forward.
Good luck either ways

Right folks, here is my predicament, I am employed by a very large company, great terms, fantastic pay & bonuses, I am pretty much able to do what I want in the place and no one has ever questioned (in a bad way) what I do (headhunted). I have a team of nearly 80 people under me and in any of my reviews I have been told I am held in very high regard by the CEO. All sounds good so far.

Well then, as I am easily bored and want to always better myself, I decided to setup a web based company a few years back and have since started two others. Between these companies two are extremely profitable while one is still in it's infancy and is teetering around the break even point, but should do so my the end of 2011. Before you ask I only put a few hours into these companies a month and never on my employers time as I employ one person full time to do any admin work pertaining to them.

Anyway, I was just called into the Head of HR's office for a "meeting" and she stated that she has heard I have outside business interests and that it is not acceptable. She claimed that as my employer payed me a salary, I was obliged to work solely for them and not share my knowledge with anyone else.

I explained that in no way was there a conflict of interests between anything I did in my FREE TIME nor was I using any company materials so I didn't see a problem. I also pointed out that there are many people that I work with who have multiple properties and they chew up work time either trying to rent their properties, talking to the bank, sorting problems for tenants etc. so why aren't they all being dragged in for a bollocking. Not to mention people that play the markets or choose to invest in other bits and pieces.

By the time the meeting was over I was lead to believe that if I was to continue what I am doing then the company would take action against me. Does anyone know if they can do this? Or can I just ride it out like a prick and tell her to fuck off like I want to. I suppose could always stand down as a director and let family members take those roles but I just don't want to.

Sounds like a great job you have and if I were in that position MM I would agree to let the family members take over the role you have. I don't think HR would call you in unless they are sure of their position. Just don't think it's worth the hassle and the possibility of losing what you have if it can be prevented.

They can't just sack you but what they can do is make life hell for you if I were you I would get legal advice I think it's the only way to go then you will know where you stand and then make a decision on the advice you have been given good luck fella.

Yep, all depends on your contract and if they don't have a clause they can't do anything but I oils be very surprised if hey didn't. The put them in not only to stop conflicts of interest but to stop staff working around the clock and turning up tired or not running at 100% while working for them.

I know guys who have had to give up side interests due to pressure from their main employer.
It's all down to how profitable the side companies are and do you really want to bite the hand that feeds you..

I think monster you have to sit down and think if your side sites are going to get bigger, if they will for sure then go for it mate, if you’re saying you are a wee bit board with this steady job but are more excited and passionate about your side business then like I said go for it.

There's all sorts of ways they could have this covered in your contract.
Some employers will forbid you to get involved in any other business no matter what it is and others dont mind as long as there is no conflict of interest.
The more senior you are in an organization the more strenuous the restrictions are likely to be. In some cases it wont matter as long as you have declared the outside interests to your employer.

As said above, get legal advice. It's the only way you'll know for sure where you stand.

Cheers for the advise guys, I really appreciate it. I sent a copy of my contract to a solicitor friend who gave it a quick once over and he claims I should be OK as far as getting the boot goes so that's a plus. He did tell me though that I should probably start looking for a job anyway as these guys might make future advancements in the workplace a little tricky.

Over the past hour I have begun preparing a file chock full of monster_monster trumpet blowing, showing the company that I'm not just a pretty face but a key cog in the wheel, along with the profits I have generated for them, both directly and indirectly. A colleague in a different department reckons I should just confront the overall boss man, it's not like I have ever been deceitful about what I do and as I said I've never ever worked on a personal project on company time. He also reckons, as I said earlier, that the CEO is a big fan of mine and the HR bitch may have taken this up against me without his knowledge.

There's all sorts of ways they could have this covered in your contract.
Some employers will forbid you to get involved in any other business no matter what it is and others dont mind as long as there is no conflict of interest.
The more senior you are in an organization the more strenuous the restrictions are likely to be. In some cases it wont matter as long as you have declared the outside interests to your employer.

As said above, get legal advice. It's the only way you'll know for sure where you stand.

one of these companies was declared before I got the job and they had no problems, the other two have been setup since I started there.